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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Mike Bedigan & Ryan Merrifield & Dan Whitcomb

Brit journalist who lost half a leg in Ukraine says he's 'damn lucky' to be alive

A British journalist wounded in Ukraine says he feels "pretty damn lucky" to be alive.

War correspondent Benjamin Hall has lost half a leg and a foot, while one of his eyes is "no longer working" after surviving an assault from Russian forces.

The 39-year-old went on to pay tribute to his late colleagues who have died reporting on the invasion.

Mr Hall and his team were reporting for US network Fox News in Horenka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, when his vehicle was hit by Russian shelling on March 14.

His Ukrainian producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova, 24, and Irish cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, were both killed in the incident.

In a Twitter post, he said: “It’s been over three weeks since the attack in Ukraine and I wanted to start sharing it all.

Mr Hall paid tribute to his colleagues cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and their producer Oleksandra 'Sasha' Kurshynova (Twitter)

"But first I need to pay tribute to my colleagues Pierre and Sasha who didn’t make it that day.

“Pierre and I travelled the world together, working was his joy and his joy was infectious. RIP.”

Sharing a picture of himself bandaged and wearing an eye-patch he added: “To sum it up, I’ve lost half a leg on one side and a foot on the other.

The correspondent was injured earlier this month (Twitter)

“One hand is being put together, one eye is no longer working, and my hearing is pretty blown… but all in all I feel pretty damn lucky to be here – and it is the people who got me here who are amazing.”

Hall later shared a link to a Fox News video tribute to Ms Kuvshynova.

A funeral service for Mr Zakrzewski was held in Foxrock, Dublin, on March 29, where the Irishman was remembered as a “truth teller” who was full of energy and passion for presenting people’s stories to the world.

Zakrzewski was a veteran war-zone photographer who had covered multiple conflicts for Fox News, including in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Based in London, he had been working in Ukraine since February.

Kuvshynova had been helping Fox's crews navigate Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking with sources.

Several other journalists, including Brent Renaud, an American documentary film-maker and another veteran of war zones, have been killed in Ukraine since the war began more than a month ago.

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